Akira Remake Eyeing Gary Oldman And Helena Bonham Carter

Well, the rollercoaster existence of the live-action, English language Akira remake is finally starting to even itself out, having gotten the greenlight early last week. Tron: Legacy’s Garrett Hedlund may take on the lead role of Kaneda, but the rest of the rather large cast has yet to be filled, save for two roles.

Twitch has it that the Dark Knight star Gary Oldman and long-time Tim Burton collaborator and child-bearer Helena Bonham Carter have both been offered pretty big roles. Oldman could step into the role of the Colonel, leader of the government team running tests on the people who exhibit psychic capabilities. He sounds like a baddie, but his role becomes a bit more complicated. Carter will play Priestess Miyako, ally to the resistance and former psychic test subject.

With these two on board, this remake definitely got itself some much needed credibility. Producers and director Jaume Collet-Serra need to keep up this trend and continue adding great talent so this young director has less to worry about. The real questions left for fans are who will play the film’s pivotal character of Tetsuo, the character who undergoes the most change and will demand the most range from the actor, and who will step into the small but very important role of Akira himself?

Akira is a film whose remake could be incredible. It’s an amazing story with huge scope, but the project is very ambitious considering the depth of the subject matter and the expanse of the special effects. There’s a lot to mess up with Akira, but we’re trying to stay positive for the time being. More on this as casting moves forward.

Sidenote: Just as crucial as having talented actors, Akira will need an amazing composer. The original 1988 film’s soundtrack is as much a character as anyone else in the film and is one of the best scores ever created. It’s intense, and whoever lands that job here will need to bring that sort of intensity to the remake.